Game



E. SCHUL-rz y Jar 16, 1934.

GAME

Filed July 30, 1932 wn DQ Nm n( .NT hlnl i@ @NSN @@@QWQQNQ A QN oooooooooo m. Q09 ooooooooo. o h0pJ ooooooawoNO-JO# f77/lm,

TTM/wmf Patented Jan. 16, 1934 UiFi'D STATES My invention relates to a new and unique game device and the main object is to provide a game apparatus involving the use of balls projected toward and into a series of pockets from a predetermined position in spaced relation to the device on a flat, elevated surface such as the playing surface of a pool or billiard table. Other objects and the details of construction and play are hereinafter fully set forthreference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which,-

Fig. lis a plan view of my game device in playing position on a billiard table.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged top view of approximately the right half of the gaine board means of my 16 device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front or lower edge View of Fig. 2.

Fig. i is an enlarged cross sectional view as on line 4.--4 in Fig. 2 revealing certain assembling details.

` Figs. 5-6 and 7 are respectively a front, side and bottom View of a preferred form of portable ball guide block used in the playing of the game.

Fig. 8 is a top view of a ball or marble rack used by players o-f the game. Y

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional detail view as on line 9-9 in Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals, I have illustrated my device set up at one end of a billiard table l0 on its playing surface 10P 30 which is of course in a horizontal plane and surrounded by the usual banks on all four sides.

The main part of my game device comprises a two section board of which the rear one A is laid transversely of the playing surface 10P with its rear edge against the rear bank IOR, and the forward board, va pocket board B, lies edgewise against the front edge of board A and may be guidably connected thereto by providing an elongated tongue and groove construction at 11 (see 40 Fig. 4c) and, additionally, dowels 12 if desired.

Boards A and B are thus of course readily separable or easily set up, the former being preferably higher or thicker than the latter and beveled as A2 at its front upper part down to the top level .j A',415 of the board B said beveled surface provided with a series of spaced numbers preferably from 1-15 inclusive and in predetermined order, each number being located directly rearward of a forwardly opening pocket P in the board B. Each pocket 'X50 is of course of a depth the thickness of the pocket board B and at the forward edge thereof comprises a narrow or restricted throat P2 inwardly of which the pocket comprises twoalined overlapping bores P3 and P4 of like size and larger in diameter than the width of passage or entry P2, all said openings being in alinement. P5 is a small half round cut-out at the rear of pocket P4 providing at their juncture two shoulders which act as deflectors for a ball projected into the pocket and cause the ball to change its course 6| and remain within the inner pocket P4.

The front edge of board B is beveled inwardly in its lower half, as 13 in Fig. 4, and to the upper Vertical and adjoining face is fixed a strip of resilient material 14, preferably rubber, and extending down to partially cover the beveled part and forming therebetween a triangular space. These strips 14 extend only between the inlets P2 but the outermost strips, designated 1li-A are comparatively long projecting outwardly from the opposite ends of the board to contact with the side banks of a billiard table in a curvature (see Fig. 1).

Each board A is provided in its upper surface with a set of flat bottom ball storage grooves 15 in the bottoni of each of which is bored a row of shallow pockets 16. There are six such grooves illustrated, for six players, and all grooves numbered in progressive order 1-6 (Fig. 1) each to be used by a player during the course of a game as will presently be described.

With each of my game devices is provided a number of sets of balls, 15 to a set, and all preferably numbered serially 1 to 15 inclusive and preferably in various colors as may be desired, and also one or more plain colored shooter balls as 1'7 in Fig. 1 held in a hand 18 of a player and said hand positioned to shoot ball 17 from the front part of the table toward the pocket board B.

The numbered set balls are designated R except the shooter 17.

19 in Fig. 1 designates a pad on which the player may rest his hand when the latter is to be used to shoot the ball in the manner of ordinary marble shooting, it being understood that all the balls in this game are preferably about 1 inch 95 or less in diameter.

20 in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 designates a so-called guide block comprising an upper flange or cover adapted to lie concentrically over a pocket P, having integral depending rounded parts 20A and i100 20B adapted to lit snugly downwardly into the parts P3 and P4 of any pocket and a forward part 20F insertable simultaneously into the upper part of throat or entrance P2. Parts 29A and 20F are grooved longitudinally as 20G and low enough 105 so that a ball entering the pocket may do so freely. These blocks are used to spot or designate the pocket which the shooter is playing for. For example if pocket I is the objective said pocket is iirst covered by the guide block and moved sucgli@ cessively to the other numbered pockets as the game progresses.

21 in Figs. 8 and 9 designates a ball storage rack bar for each player to put playing pieces thereon, in the shallow bores 2li? in numerical order.

The preferred construction of my device has now been disclosed and to some extent the playing or the game. The playing of the game may of course be varied according to a number of sets of rules one of which will now be described.

Assuming that six players or contestants are to participate in a game, said players will rst determine in any suitable manner the order in which they are to play in turns.

The rst player No. 1 puts a ball say red color in the socket 1 adjacent a ball record groove 15, player 2 puts a ball of green color in socket 2 etc. until the order of play is thus clearly established. Then a set of balls R, 15 in number, are placed with one ball on the playing surface and within each entrance P2 to a socket (see Figs. 2 and 3). Players shoot a ball from the front end of the table as in Fig. 1, in progressive order. The ball R in pocket No. 1 is first shot at with ball 17 by the players until it is projected into the pocket. The player who does this gets a credit of one point putting said No. 1 ball into his storage groove 16 in the board A. The guide block 20 remains on the pocket No. 1 until its ball is shot into the pocket and then moved to pockets of numerically increasing numbers. The players put each ball they shoot into the pocket into their respective storage grooves and after all the 15 numbered balls have thus been played, the winner of the game is decided by largest total number added up from the balls in the storage grooves.

It will be readily understood that a shooter ball 1'7 must be shot with considerable accuracy to hit a ball R and knock it into a pocket or to shoot ball 17 directly into a pocket. However, if any shot is not perfect the ball will strike against the lower part of a resilient flap 14 which will yield but spring back and cause the shooter 17 to rebound toward the players end of the table. In other words the resilient tabs 14 are ball retrieving members, returning the ball to the player after an imperfect shot.

Any one of the participants of a game may stand at the rear end of the table to place the guide block 2O where it should be and to remove the ball shot into each pocket to place it in the proper players ball storage groove 16.

It is now clear that a considerably variable set of game rules may be followed, the above described play of the game being merely an example.

The position of the shooting hand 18 is of course usually Vin alinernent with the numbered socket P which the player is aiming for, but the location of shooting position should be arbitrarily xed a certain distance from the pockets.

This game device is most conveniently made to be placed and played on a billiard table or the like. It may however be played on any other suitable or available surface in which case the side strips 14A may be elongated and extend parallel to each other (not shown) from each end of the board toward the player to keep rebounding balls within reasonable limits.

I claim:

1. A game apparatus comprising an elongated quadrangular board with its rear half formed with a higher top surface the front half and beveled therebetween, said front part provided with a row of elongated pockets each with a restricted opening in the front edge oi the board and further formed withia vertical groove of relatively small proportions in the rear of each pocket and in alinement with its opening the front edge of the board having an inwardly inclined face in its lower portion and a vertical face in its upper portion, ball retrieving means between the restricted openings and attached to the vertical ace, and numerical designations on said beveled upper part of the board for and adjacent each pocket.

2. The structure specied in claiin 1, in which said ball retrieving means comprise each a piece of resilient material and extending downwardly in a vertical plane over a part of the adjacent inwardly beveled part of the iront edge of the board.

3. The structure specified in claim 1, in which said ball retrieving means comprise each a piece of resilient material and extending downwardly in a vertical plane adjacent the inwardly beveled part of the front edge of the board, and resilient elongated pieces Xed to the opposite end parts of said front face of the board and projecting normally outwardly therefrom.

4. The structure specied in claim 1, and a guide block member comprising a depending body arranged to fit slidably and downwardly into any one of the pockets and flanged outwardly perimetrically at its upper part to rest on top of the upper face of the front board part, each said guide block formed with an inverted grooved part in its lower face and normally in spaced relation to a surface on which the block rests and said grooved part extending inwardly in the restricted opening of the pocket and longitudinally thereof.

EDWIN SCHULTZ. 

